Understanding
by freakanature06
Summary: Raph's having a bit of hard time and Donny helps him out with a bit of a chat. Based around one of my favorite quotes. R&R!


A/N: This is just something I came up with to go with one of my favorite quotes: "Without the darkness, we would never know that the stars exist." And, with my recent RE-obsession with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this is just what came along! Enjoy!

The night was unusually silent for the big city. A deep darkness covered everything on the rooftops, making it difficult to see anything more than a foot away. In the darkness sat a figure as silent as the night, staring down upon the city. It was difficult to tell who or even what this figure was in the dark. Its large, hunched form looked almsot alien to the unwary eye and the only color that was visible in the gloom was a strip of bright red on what appeared to be the head of the figure. The figure sat motionless for many minutes, just examining the landscape below.

Suddenly, the figure was joined by another. This second figure was just as silent and oddly shaped, but no definite color could be seen on it - just a darker strip on its head. The second figure joined the first one and added his gaze to those watching the city.

After a few mintues, a deep male voice broke the silence. "I'm... antsy. Restless. I don't know what to do."

Another voice spoke up, also male, but a little higher. "Why are you so restless, Raph?"

The figure wearing red shrugged what appeared to be his shoulders. "I dunno," he replied, turning his head to look at the other figure. "Maybe... nah, you don't care." He looked back down at the city.

The other looked at Raph and a note of concern entered his voice. "Of course I care, Raph. I'm your brother! I always care about you." Silence answered him. "Come on, just tell me what's wrong."

As an alarm went off in the city below, Raph slammed his fist into the ground and stood up angrily. "That," he said motioning in the general direction of the alarm. "All this crime. All these... bad guys." He sat down heavily, his face in his hands. "When will they stop?" he muttered. "When will they go away?" He looked sideways at his brother. "Can you make a machine for that?" he said, half mocking, half pleading. "Huh, Donny? Can you make a machine to make the bad guys go away?"

Donny, who had been paying close attention through Raph's tirade, placed his chin in one hand and sat in silent thought for a while. Finally, he raised his head and placed a comforting hand on his brother's arm. "I don't think there's a better machine for getting rid of 'bad guys' than our family." He smiled slightly, a bright white shining through the gloom. "And even if I could build a better machine..." He paused, as if considering his next words carefully. "Well, I wouldn't."

A growl came from Raph and he stood up again. "Why not, Donny?! Don't you care that innocent people get hurt whenever a bad guy comes around? Are you that insensitive?"

"Raph-" a deep sigh in the darkness. "Sit down." Almost unwillingly, Raph obeyed. "Look," Donny said, patience filling his voice. "'Good' can't exist without 'bad.'"

"That doesn't make sense," Raph complained. Despite this, he kept quiet for the explanation that was sure to come.

"It's the age-old tradition: good cannot exist without evil, nor evil without good. If there was no bad in the world, how would we know what good is?" At the silence that answered him, he continued: "You like the stars, don't you Raph?"

A shifting noise came from beside him, and then a muttered, "Well, yeah. They're calming, you know?"

"Good. Now, think of this: there is no light without dark and no dark without light. So, you see, without the darkness, we would never know that the stars exist." At his words, a cloud drifted away and the sudden moonlight and starlight illuminated their green faces and turtle shells, one wearing a red face mask, the other purple.

Raph looked up to the sky and admired the stars for a moment. Donny continued, also looking up at the stars, "Light is 'good,' dark is 'bad.' And so the balance endures." He looked at his brother. "We're just here to keep the scales from tipping in the favor of evil."

Another cloud blocked out the sky, leaving the rooftop in darkness again. Raph tore his gaze from the sky and smiled slightly. "I think I get it now."

A laugh broke the somber attitude on the roof. "Good! You feel any better?"

"Yeah, thanks Donny."

"No problem, Raph. Any time."

A moment later the roof was empty, save for the slight wind that blew by and the all-encompassing darkness. A single star broke through the clouds and shone down proudly, illuminating a spot where understanding was born.

A/N: Hope you liked it! Please review!


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